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Nathan Rouse
English 155
Mr. Allen
Gangs in America
Violent Crimes, Drug Trafficking, and True testimony
I feel that we as people should be educated with as much valuable information on the
profound effort that the gangs have to seek a purpose or understanding. We should know how to
identify someone from a gang and know how to protect ourselves from gangs. We should avoid
recruitment and keep family and friend aware of gangs and the constant activities that are
possibly going on in your neighborhood or community. Also, with understanding you can know
how to respond to gangs or gang activities.
The amount of gangs in amerce as of 1991 was estimated to be 4881 gangs, with an
estimated of 249,324 members. The unanimous amount of member in a gangs leaves an
estimated of 46,359 criminal gang incidents. The more incidents the gangs haves leads to more
violent offenses, serious injuries and more lethal weapons being used. Living in this lifestyle of
being in a gang or being a gang member you’re constantly involved with the police which leave
you with a record of offenses that makes it hard to get a job. So most end up robbing, theft, and
drug trafficking which lead to more offenses. The gangs are multiplying in more and more cities
every day. As with the gangs adding up so is the use of lethal weapons. Gangs found their way to
migrating through many of the western cites in the effort to get more “turf”. Turf is an area that
is controlled by that gang. (Gangs in America)
In the late 1980s and early 1990s youth crimes became issues of national concern
especially the violent crimes. Most the attention focused on young men, but some of the research
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targeted the noticeable increase of violence offences in young women. Gang activity was
announced as a cause of the increased violence. Young men were usually the ones viewed as
gang members and excluding females as “real” gang members. (Violence and Gangs)
A consequence of the exclusion of females from gang research contributed too many
false views about female gang participation and their violent crimes. Interest in female gang
activity has been increased by a lot of the media coverage. The estimates of gang involvement
vary but official records show that less than 10% of gang members are females. However selfreport studies always find rates between 20 and 46%. (Violence and Gangs)
Researchers believe that women do not offend more than males. The ratio for serious
assault is 5.6:1 for man versus women in 1976 and 5.7:1 in 1990. Other research has shown that
women delinquency is parallel to those of males. Also other similarities were found when
comparing males and female involvement in crimes. Studies have showed that gang members are
involved in a lot of serious crimes among male and female. The difference between male and
female still show the male percentage is higher in the involvement of crimes. The attention to
focus on these two groups (male or female) makes it easy to justify the different act commented
by these two groups. (Violence and Gangs)
The main focus of this gender examination is the focus of violent offending and the effect
between the relations of the two. “Are differences in violent crime rates attributable to gender or
gang membership, or are there other factors that explain the variation in frequency of violent
offending?” Many believe that membership focused on the social learning, self-control, social
strain and power-control theories. Criminologists believe that females commit crimes for the
same reason as males. Researchers believe that “control theory offers the best possibility for
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explaining female delinquency and even more important, why it is less frequent than male
delinquency?” (Violence and Gangs)
The control theory shows delinquency would be accounted for by the weakness of social
bonds. The reason for the delinquency difference was because females are attached to their
family, school and other positive attributes. This leaves males with a lower percentage of coming
from a structured home. “As youth get older, family influence decreases more rapidly for boys
than girls. In families boys are more likely to take on the role as the risk taker and the girl will
not. Women are normally the ones that will not give in to violence and rather try to avoid it. As
for males, they seem to always find trouble. (Violence and Gangs)
Nafeesa, a soon to be female gang member, was showing signs at a young age of the pass
her parent toke as former gang members. Her parents were divorced when she was four. Nateesa
vicious behavior toward her peers and teacher began at age 11. Nafeesa had the colors that
represented you as a gang member under her private uniform she had to wear at school. Slowly
but sure Nafeesa began to ditch school. According to the mother of Nafeesa she had not
apparently seen those as signs of her daughter being in a gang seeing that she was blinded by the
act of her daughter dressing like a boy. (Girls Gone Gangster)
Recent research in Los Angeles by Sgt. Ron Lopez of LAPD shows that there are 400
active gangs and an estimated of about 50,000 to 100,000 members. For about three years he
studied some the most infamous gang member in Los Angeles and some were women. Ron talks
about how the women are “put on” (mean how they were initiated into a gang). Also giving
graphic information to how some women might have been sexed into a gang. Males are normally
“jumped in” (meaning they got beat up by several members of a gang). Showing a since of
respect women weren’t jumped in. (Girls Gone Gangster)
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Intervention programs and events are held for women and young girl in gangs. Marquita
Dorsey, a program manager for the Watts Southeast Grid Zone for the Mayor's Office, dealt with
Crips and Bloods some of whom had the largest amount of women in that gang. Due to lack of
parental supervision and care for these young women lead them to find interest in what their
peers find amusing. Also the young women find comfort in their peers that they don’t get at
home. Girls get easily sucked in if they are not from a structured home. (Girls Gone Gangster)
Nafeesa, a member of the Inglewood Family Bloods, doesn’t want to die with nothing
accomplished. Being the youngest of eight, Nafeesa felt that her childhood was not that good.
Nafeesa toke the role as class clown and did not like that and found her drawn to the outsider
which were the gang members. Nefeesa felt wanted with the gang members and grew a since of
bond with the people for her hood. Nefeesa doesn’t release her role in the gang but researchers
believe that women usually do the driving and or carry the drugs. (Girls Gone Gangster)
Skipp Townsend spent time in prison due to crime he has done threw out his 27 years of
life that led him dealing with two life sentences. He was found not guilty and believe it was god
that gave him a second chance. Skipp decided to leave his neighborhood and went to an
organization that helps rehabilitate former gang members by offering jobs and counseling. Skipp
led a discussion about anger management to a group of 25 people and eight of them were
women. Skipp believe that women had no goal and weren’t motivated and felt that it was good
that women came to his group meetings. (Girls Gone Gangster)
In desperate need to help the young Skipp went back to his old hood to recruit some
former gang member to help rehabilitate member of gangs. He found an old friend named
Bubbles who wanted to help. Bubbles work with Skipp as a “Hard-core gang intervention
specialist”. “A lot of people say they are former gang member”, Bubbles stated but believe that
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there are no former gang members there active or non-active gang members. Still in the lifestyle
of partying and attending funeral, Bubbles left the selling drugs and doing stupid stuff behind
and was focused on giving back to the community. (Girls Gone Gangster)
The city of Los Angeles allowed parks to stay open late and offered activities for the
community to participate in and keep them out of trouble. There was a 17 percent drop in the
gang violence in Los Angeles that year. These individuals, Nefeesa, Bubbles, and Skipp, know
that there involvement in a gang critically impacted their lives. In fact some of them have lost
friends and people close to them in their involvement with gangs. Brittany was one of Nefeesa
friends who ran away from home at age thirteen. Brittany was kicked out of school. Brittany
mother received a phone call from Brittany school saying that Brittany had been ‘Put on’. (Girls
Gone Gangster)
Nicola Boykin, Brittany mother, did not find out until later on that getting put on means
she had to fight other gang members to become from a gang. Boykin on a search for her daughter
at 2 am had a feeling that some was wrong or that her daughter was in trouble. Brittany dyed her
hair red showing signs that she was involved with the bloods. Brittany was murdered at 21 and
left Nicola with a 5 year old to look after. Boykin found out that her daughter went by the street
name Lady CK (Crip killer). At her funeral Nicola was confronted with T-shirts that had her
daughter throwing up gang signs and not like seeing her little Brittany like that. (Girls Gone
Gangster)
The former governor has declared the Anti-Gang Violence Parental Accountability act
that basically states that the judge can assign parent to parental classes to teach them how to
identify gang member. Many parents feel they really don’t have any influence in their children
actions. While the kids being involved in that environment for a long time parents believe it will
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be hard to detach their kids from that environment of gangs. The gang involvement has a big
effect on the ones who love and really care about these young gang members. Nafeesa is back in
school, still an active gang member, with dreams of helping the children who lived like she did.
People believe what you find in a gang you find in the military the closeness of groups or
organization that makes you feel as one unbreakable bond. (Girls Gone Gangster)